The West is delusional about de-radicalising jihadists

The error of Emma Kelty, the one that cost the British adventurer her brave life on the banks of the Amazon, was a failing all too common in Europeans: she had too much good faith. Raised in comfort and educated in compassion, Kelty had little concept of the savagery that lurks in some souls. Displaying a mix of naivety and conceit, she ignored warnings from villagers and went on her way, even posting a joke on social media mocking the locals’ concern for her welfare. Two days later she was murdered by a gang of ‘water rats’, young men with no regard for human life. What happened to Kelty is little different from what has been happening to Europe in recent years. The same naivety and conceit afflicts our leaders who struggle to understand that there are, living among us, a great many people who want to cause us harm. …

Theresa May, whose father was a vicar, …, like the German Chancellor [, the daughter of a pastor], seems to believe that in the end the Islamists will come round to our way of thinking and embrace our set of values. …

There are hundreds of former Islamic State fighters now back in the West; at least 750, according to Europol Director Rob Wainwright, although as many as 2,500 European-born fighters are likely to be in ‘various stages of returning’. …

But of the numerous returnees Thomson interviewed, the majority were unrepentant and only one, Zoubeir, has co-operated with the authorities to promote an anti-Islamist message within his local community. ‘They’re still jihadists,’ Zoubeir said of his former comrades. ‘That’s the reason why most aren’t prepared to give evidence against others…because they consider France impious, an enemy of Islam, which fights their brothers’. …